The Warrior's Heart: Children of the Earth
by Liddry
Summary: Liddry and the Avatar gang are back. After the Siege of the North, it's time to enter the Earth Kingdom and join in the war there while Aang learns Earth-bending. Can the strength of Liddry, Aang, Sokka, Katara, and the new character Toph turn the tide?
1. Chapter 1: The Journey continues

_Chapter 1_

Dawn arrived over Earth-Kingdom base, and a sturdy boy of 16 was already awake, thinking and smoking on a short pipe. He was thin, but not under fed, his eyes sea blue, and his hair was tree-bark brown. Dressed in a blue shirt, a brown leather jerkin, dark cloth pants, high boots of soft leather, and a grey cloak, his appearance would have been quite usual. But he was a good sport, enjoyed laughing, walking, talking, telling stories, and oh! the stories he could tell, tales of knights in shining armor, of deeds done in ancient days, oh the tales he could tell. But now he sat deep in serious thought of the days to come.

As the sun came fully over the horizon, the evidence of the recent battle became more visible. Just yesterday, the crazed Earth-Kingdom general running the base had attacked Aang in an effort to use Aang's Avatar State as a weapon of war, now the traces of his defeat could be seen all over the place. Liddry chuckled at the memory, and continued pulling on his pipe.

Katara walked up and sat beside him. She was a pretty girl of 14, dark raven hair going down her back in a long braid, dark brown eyes, and lightly tan skin. 'Good morning.' she said. 'That may be a matter of opinion.' he said. Katara looked confused, 'What makes you say that?' Liddry pulled on his pipe then spoke with white smoke issuing from his mouth, 'I've been doing some thinking since the siege of the Northern Water-Tribe. The force they had there was formidable. So that means that either their armies are larger than I thought, or the conquest of the Earth-Kingdom is going along so well that they could take men away from it without worry. It seems that the Fire-Nation has not been idle while we were resting up north.'

They got up went back to the small room in which their group had spent the night and found Aang and Sokka already awake. Aang was a small boy of 12, big blue eyes, and completely bald with blue, arrow tattoos everywhere. He was the Avatar, and a very important kid, though he rarely acted like it. Sokka was 15 with a more solid build, gray eyes, and a ponytail. Together, Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Liddry, were going around the three kingdoms of Earth, Fire, and Water to help Aang learn the four elements to win the War.

Liddry was the first to speak, 'Ok, guys. Get your breakfast quickly; we must be gone before midday.' 'Why so early?' asked Aang. 'We spent too much time at the north pole. Now we need haste if you are to learn the elements before the comet comes.' Aang's smile faded to be replaced by a look of worry. Liddry looked stern as continued, 'You are all to head to Omashu. There King Bumi can teach Earth-bending, and we can start doing something for the War.' Sokka looked confused and said, 'Why does it sound like you're not coming with us?' 'I'm not.' said Liddry, 'I have business to do that might give more help than just in the War. Just get to Omashu; I'll meet you there in 7 days.' And so after packing an ostrich-horse, ('this is defiantly not like a horse.') he set out, watching the others fly off to the west.

For three days he went with only brief halts for food and sleep. On the third day he found what he was looking for. He had stopped by a riverbed to water his steed when, further downriver, he heard what sounded like an old man singing. Creeping closer, Liddry peered out from the brush to an old man, with a gray beard and partially bald head, sitting by a small fire. Recognizing him, Liddry walked out and addressed the man, 'Is this seat taken, General Iroh?' Iroh looked with absolute politeness, 'Not at all, General Liddry, I've been expecting you.' Liddry sat down with raised eyebrows, 'General? I don't believe I hold that title.' he said. Iroh nodded and said, 'Yes, but many around the world call you that because of your ability to command men. Would you like some tea?' Liddry agreed.

After accepting his tea, Liddry spoke, 'Since you were expecting me, I assume you know why I'm here.' Iroh nodded, 'Yes, and we have a few hours before he comes back.' He poured himself some more tea, 'My question is; _why_ are you interested in him?' Liddry sipped his tea and said, 'You know very well. Because I, like you, sense a greater destiny for him than just that of a work boy or a prince. I believe that his deeds, like mine, will go beyond this war and perhaps help bring about a new world. Whether for better or for worse, it depends on whether you can get through, and help him.' Iroh nodded, 'It seems that what I'm trying with him is more important than I thought. Yes, he does indeed have the capacity to be a good man. I only hope I'm able to do it.'

Liddry nodded, and then said, 'Well I'd best go before your nephew comes back. He still won't like me at this point. And I need to be back Omashu in three days.' At that Iroh looked alarmed, 'But the Fire-Nation took Omashu a month ago.' Liddry jerked his eyes back to Iroh as he continued, 'and another thing; Azula, Zuko's sister, is in the country. And if I know her, she'll want to get her team together, and one now lives at Omashu.' Liddry didn't wait to hear anymore. He ran back through the brush to the ostrich horse, mounted, and rode as if Morgoth himself was after him. He rode in as much haste as he could get out of the animal, all the time fearing to come too late.

Two days later he came over a hill to see the fallen city; its fair buildings now back with soot and pipes. He paused to serve the scene, and saw what looked like a camp nearby. Seeing the green of the Earth-Kingdom, he rode down and a man stopped in front of him. 'Where is the Avatar?' said Liddry. The man pointed toward the Statue on top of the highest hill. Liddry got off the steed, grabbed his things, and ran off. A few minutes later, he stood on a deck, watching through the boards above him, an unlit fuse in his hand. He watched as the trade was called off by three girls, and the fight begin. Aang went off to Help Bumi (and was chased by one girl), while Sokka ran off with an infant boy. Katara held her ground as long as she could, but the girl with a long braid paralyzed her with a few quick jabs. The other girl aimed to throw a dart. It flew, but never reached its target.

At that moment, the deck in front of them burst upward as the deadly darts collided with a shield. A sword flashed, and both girls were thrown back by a strong breeze. They looked up to see Liddry standing with shield on one arm, sword in the other. 'Katara, get out of here and find Aang. Don't come back until you have him. I'll deal with these young beauties.' Katara gave him a "whatever" look and hobbled off as best she could. The girl with the ponytail ran at her but a watery whip grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back. 'And where do you think you're going? The party's just begun.' She got back up and ran at Liddry this time, but failed just as bad, if not worse. She was just about to strike out and paralyze him when he swung his shield and rammed it right into her. They continued this for a few minutes with neither girl landing a hit on him, but nor did he strike back. 'Ok, you girls are good at this.' both struck at the same time, but Liddry leapt into the air, and threw his shield, saving the pink girl from being filled with her friend's darts, 'But I'm better.' he said.

At that point, he heard a growl from overhead. He looked up to see Appa flying low. While the two girls were still recovering from the last attempt, Liddry ran, scooped up his shield and leaped off the deck onto the back of the airborne bison. Aang started to fly away, but Liddry told him to hold for a bit. As they wondered why, the answer came. The decks and supports at the bottom of the scaffolding burst into a fiery explosion, causing the rest of the structure to collapse, part of the hill to fall away, and the giant statue to tip over onto the city below. 'That'll learn yas.' said Liddry with some satisfaction, and they flew off.

'You know, that guy was really cute.' said Ty Lee as she and Mai walked up the stairs to where a _very _grumpy Azula stood waiting for them. Mai gave her a "o….k….." look and turned to Azula, 'So what now? Do we look for your brother and uncle, or do we chase down the Avatar and his crew?' Azula gave it a seconds thought, before saying, 'We'll go after the Avatar. If I know my brother's persistence, we'll probably meet him on the way.' Both girls nodded and Mai went off to arrange transport.


	2. Chapter 2: A trouble to the Heart

Chapter 2

Liddry was driving as they flew over the sea of green. Both he and Aang had seemed distracted ever since they had started flying over the swamp; Aang stared absentmindedly into the trees while Liddry seemed almost asleep. 'Liddry, you awake?' asked Sokka. 'Hm?' Liddry started, 'What? Oh, yes. It's just, I don't know, almost as though there's another will at work, and I'm not sure what it means.' Liddry shook himself and started bringing Appa into higher winds. But as he pulled back, Sokka looked behind them and saw a huge whirlwind coming towards them with surprising speed. 'Uh, Liddry…' said Sokka and Liddry turned around. At seeing the twister, he shook the reigns and increased their speed. But as he sped up, so did the whirling tornado. There was nothing else for it. As the windstorm caught them, it seemed as though huge hands had taken hold of them and threw them out of the sky. No amount of air-bending could have saved them from its fury. And so each of them was plucked from the saddle and fell into the trees below….

Liddry opened his eyes and found himself hanging in a thick tangle of vines. He moved his arm and the vines opened from under him, sending him falling into a large green pool. He came out sputtering and looked up to see the other three coming out of a large patch of leaves. 'Well,' he said, 'that was a graceful landing.' 'No it wasn't.' said Sokka with a look of confusion. Liddry gave him an exasperated stare; 'Sarcasm's a foreign language to you, isn't it?' he stood and looked around. 'What was that?' asked Aang. 'I don't know.' said Liddry, 'but whatever it was; it seems to have disappeared as we hit the ground.' They looked around them at the dark swamp. 'What do we do now?' asked Aang, and they all turned to Liddry. 'Why do you always expect _me_ to pull you out of sticky places?' he asked. 'Because you've traveled farther than us.' answered Katara. Liddry rolled his eyes, 'I have only once been in a marshy area, and that was the Dead Marshes, and that was an evil place.'

The sun was beginning to set, so against Aang's misgivings, Sokka cut some branches and started a fire. As the darkness deepened, they began to hear many things creeping in the shadows outside the firelight, sometimes coming right to the edge. 'I don't like this place, it gives me the creeps.' said Katara. Liddry frowned, 'Now don't go getting the jitters on me.' When another noise was heard and the others jumped and clutched each other, Liddry growled, 'WILL YOU STOP? Look, if I sing you a lullaby, will you calm down and go to sleep?' They nodded and Liddry rolled his eyes, 'This is becoming so often that I might become Tom Bombadil and sing the Fire-lord to death.' He turned to grab his stringed instrument, but then he remembered, 'It seems I left my lute in Appa's saddle.'

Regardless of this, they each dropped off into an uneasy sleep; Liddry closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep. As he slept, he saw many images; he saw a city with extraordinarily high walls, the sun shining off their green roofs like glistening emeralds. Then as though a curtain was removed, the scene changed, and he saw a familiar sight. He saw high white walls surrounding a seven layered city with a tall tower rising out of the citadel. His hope, having risen at the sight of these two mighty cities, fell even lower than before, the cities were burning. Red flames engulfed the green roofs while on the wall flew the flag of the Fire Nation. Smoke rose from the outer rings of Minas-Tirith. He looked up to see a large black shadow swooping low. He felt it grab him, he heard a woman scream as he struggled….

He awoke, but the screaming and struggling went on. He opened his eyes; a wriggling vine had wrapped around him and started dragging him across the dirt. Immediately he wrenched one hand free, pulled out his knife, and cut the rest of his body free. As he stood several more vines started reaching out to grab him. He struck out and caused a ring of bright flames to encircle him and the vines to wither. As the flames died down, Liddry looked around for his companions. They had been dragged off to who knew where. He was alone in a dangerous swamp.

He wandered about for most of the day. His friends couldn't have gotten far; they were tough enough to get out of a mess like those vines. Although he didn't find them, he often though that he'd seen people running through the trees. He sometimes ran after them but they seemed to disappear as he got close. It seemed to him as though the very swamp itself was more, _alive_, than usual. Such a feeling he had not felt since he had traveled through a forest, probably older than this. The sun was sinking in the west and he was just about to lose hope, when from a little way off, he heard a horn. Clear it called, and he knew it; that was **his** horn.

He ran off in its direction, but he hadn't gone far before he once again heard someone laughing. He skidded to a halt and turned. All the others he had seen or heard had had a sort of familiarity to them, but this one was different, new. He listened a bit, turned to move along, but immediately heard the laughter again. It seemed to him that sound seemed to fill his heart with a feeling he'd…. well…. never felt before, and filled him with enchantment. But as he stood there, there was another horn blast and he finally torn himself away and left.

'There you are!' said Sokka as Liddry entered the camp. He looked around, 'Seems you guys made some new friends.' he said. 'Yea, we did.' said Aang. Katara was the only one who noticed something strange in his eyes. What it was, she decided, she would find out eventually.


	3. Chapter 3: A new face

Well, finally finished. Hope it was worth the wait.

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

The sun rose behind them as they looked down on the town below them. 'You think we'll find Aang a teacher there?' asked Sokka. Liddry shrugged, 'We'll never know till we look.' He said then walked back towards Appa, 'You guys go on ahead,' he said, 'I'll only be a minute behind.' They walked down into the town. It wasn't long before Sokka started looking at something he'd found in one of the shops. 'I don't know, the bag's rather pricy.' he said as he examined a purse-like bag. Eager to have him finish, Katara spoke up, 'Go ahead, and get it. You deserve something special.' Sokka looked thoughtful, 'That is true.' As Sokka was paying for the bag, Liddry walked up, he was carrying a bow. 'That doesn't look like yours.' said Katara. Liddry smiled 'you're right,' he said and he tossed it to her, 'it's yours.'

She gave a confused look. Liddry explained, 'That shot you took at the Battle of the North…..' 'But that was just luck!' Katara interrupted. 'I have seen no place where luck exists. Each of us has a skill deep inside us, and it takes just the right motivation to bring it out. Seeing me in trouble may have been just what yours needed.' Katara still looked unconvinced, Liddry sighed, 'Look out into the market and pick a target.' She looked out and pointed to a cart wheel. Liddry then pulled out an arrow and handed it to her, 'Fit it to the string, use your lips as a marker to show where to hold it as you look down the shaft.' Hesitantly, she obeyed. She pulled back the bowstring and released. The arrow sped through the air and stopped, quivering, in the dead center of the cartwheel 100 meters away.

Katara look shocked and yet pleased with this new development. Liddry smiled as he went to retrieve the arrow. As he walked back to the others, Aang came out of a door and back to them as well. 'So how'd it go?' asked Katara as Liddry left to buy her a quiver and some arrows. 'I don't think he's the one.' As he finished speaking two boys came out the door behind him, speaking to one another about an earth-bending tournament. Interested, Sokka stopped them, 'Can you tell us where this tournament is?' he asked. One boy sneered at him, 'Yea, it's on the island on nunya, as in nunya business.' and so, laughing they rounded the corner. 'Wait here.' said Katara and she ran around the corner after them. Less than a minute later (Liddry had returned at this point), she came back, looking devilishly pleased with herself. 'I know where the tournament is.' she said.

They walked to some empty seats in the front row. 'I wonder why no one sits up here.' said Aang as they sat down. A huge boulder smashed into the stands a few feet away, 'Maybe that's why.' said Sokka. The man on in the ring started speaking, '_Welcome to Earth Rumble 6 where the rules are simple; knock your opponent out of the ring to win. Are you ready!_' a resounding cheer, '_Then let's get started! In this corner, we have; The Boulder!_' the muscular man flexed, '_and in this corner, we have; The Mad Hippo!_' a huge man that was chewing a rock as a child would to chocolate. The Boulder observed his opponent, 'The Boulder is gonna win this in a landslide!' Liddry snorted beside Aang, 'I see what you did there.' he said.

The tournament went on for another hour; the Boulder winning every match. 'How bout the Boulder, Aang?' asked Katara, 'He looks to be good at it.' Aang shook his head, 'Bumi said I need to find someone who listens to the earth. He's just listening to his big muscles.' Sokka had been over excited for almost the entire thing, Liddry had fallen asleep. '_Well everyone,_' called the announcer, '_The Boulder has defeated all of the other contestants. Now he must face the reigning champion; The Blind Bandit!_' Out of the tunnel came a strange sight for this place, a small girl of what looked to be twelve with dark hair and pale eyes. 'She can't really be blind.' said Katara, 'It's just a name, isn't it?' 'Actually,' said Aang as he looked at her, 'I think she is?'

The fight was over in seconds; as the Boulder stepped to attack, the Blind Bandit stood stock still for a second, then in two quick moves; she disabled the Boulder and knocked him out of the ring. 'How did she do that?' said Katara, 'She waited, and listened!' said Aang. Sokka booed after the Boulder's defeat, Liddry started to snore. The announcer came back out on the ring, '_I have a sack of gold to give to anyone who can beat, The Blind Bandit!_' deafening silence, '_Is there anyone who will attempt it?_' more silence. After a second, 'I accept!' all turned to see Aang walking out onto the platform…..

'Ok, let me get this straight.' said Liddry a little while later outside a high wall with a garden behind, 'Aang has finally found the perfect teacher, but after beating her in a battle, she stormed off. Now we're off to some rich-man's house to find her.' Aang nodded. 'This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.' They came to an extravagantly carved door with two boar-head knockers. They knocked and were let into the entrance room as someone went to make their presence known. After a bit they were led into a large room with two seats in it. There sat a man with a dark beard and his raven haired wife beside him, while on a large mat sat the man from the school and the girl they were looking for. This was the Bei Fong family with their daughter Toph, the wealthiest in those parts. Liddry stepped forward and bowed low, 'Greetings, I am Liddry, son of Elgarath, of the Dunédain of the North-lands. With me is Aang the Avatar, and Sokka, and Katara from the Southern Water-Tribe. We have traveled far today and ask for lodging for the night in your fair house.' The man stood, 'Welcome to my home, for how can I refuse such a greeting?'

A short time later they were eating dinner around a low table. 'So what brings you to these parts, Avatar?' asked Mrs. Bei Fong. 'I'm looking for an earth-bending teacher.' said Aang. 'Well, Professor Zei is the finest teacher in the region. He's been teaching Toph (the girl) for some time.' Aang got a sly look on his face, 'So then she should be an excellent earth-bende…' His face suddenly went splattering into the soup-bowl. 'Smooth.' said Liddry as Aang wiped his face clean. As he finished, he gave a terrific sneeze, blowing Toph's soup right into her face. Afterwards, Toph asked Aang for a private word outside. Liddry continued eating his soup at a faster pace, as though he was trying to finish before he lost his soup. 'So, Mr. Liddry,' said Mr. Bei Fong, 'Who rules in your country?' Liddry swallowed his mouthful of soup, 'Well it depends on which country you consider me from. Theoden King rules the Rohirrim, the Lord Denethor rules as steward in Gondor, and the lord Elrond rules over the elves of Rivendell. But as for the Dunédain of the Northlands, we have no ruler, or king. There's Aragorn, son of Arathorn, but he's only our chief. The North Kingdom was destroyed long ago by the black army of Angmar under their dreaded Witch King. I and my remaining kindred are all that's left. About four score, and our numbers are dwindling. It may be that these wars will be our last venture.' An utter silence filled the room, 'I'm sorry…' said Mr. Bei Fong. Liddry shook his head, 'Don't be. You wouldn't know.' They were relieved by Sokka choking on an extra large chunk of bread, and everyone began to laugh as Momo started punching his stomach to get it out. Suddenly, Liddry stood, tense as a panther that's about to pounce. Then just as suddenly, he grabbed his sword, which was leaning against the wall, and ran out the door.

The others followed him to a place near the outer wall, where they saw two odd holes in the grass. Katara picked up a scrap of paper someone had let fall, '_Dear Bei Fong Family, we have captured your daughter and will return her in exchange for 1,000 gold pieces. Signed, the Boulder and The head of Earth Rumble ._' Sokka took the note from her and said, 'I can't believe it, I HAVE THE BOULDER'S AUTOGRAPH!' 'Katara, smack him.' said Liddry as knelt to the ground. She obliged. Liddry stayed kneeling for another minute before standing, 'It was indeed the team from that tournament. We were caught at unawares, so it was easy for them.' The mother broke down crying, 'Oh, Toph! She must be so scared!' Mr. Bei Fong held her comfortingly, and then looked at Liddry. 'What are we going to do?' Liddry sighed, 'The only advice I can give is to give in to their demands. There's no knowing what they'll do if we attempt a rescue.'

Thirty minutes later, they were at the arena where the tournament was held, and found the entire group there with two metal boxes containing their missing people. 'Did you come with the gold?' the leader asked. Liddry, with sword at his belt and shield on his back, tossed him the jingling sack. The leader nodded to the others and they opened the box containing Toph. As she walked over to them, Katara called, 'What about Aang?' With a smile, the leader held up a fire-nation wanted poster with Aang's picture on it, 'I'm sure the Fire-Lord will pay handsomely for the capture of the Avatar.' 'TREACHERY!' cried Liddry and he started to drawl his sword. The ground beneath his shot up and held him tightly. Liddry gave a roar and broke free in one fiery burst. He released his sword and cried 'ANDURAR PAR DUNEDAIN!' As the fight went on, Liddry found himself hard put to fight the fighters _and_ keep the Hippo from running off with Aang, even after stealing earth-bending from one of the fling rocks. The Hippo was just about to escape when the tunnel in front of him suddenly became blocked. They all turned to see Toph standing there, ready to fight with her father sitting in the stands watching nervously. A rock suddenly hit Liddry in the head, and he fell into a dark shadow.

He awoke to find himself on Appa's saddle with the wind whistling by. At first he thought he had woken from a very realistic dream, but then he saw the girl sitting next to him and knew differently. 'Hey Toph.' he said as he sat up, 'When did you join our party?'

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><p>Well, Toph has finally join the group. What happens next? We'll find out, as soon as i make it up and write it down. Please review.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: Lost

Chapter 4

'Ok, why are we here?' said Sokka as Aang sat on the dirt with a flute in his hand. 'We're taking turns picking mini-vacations,' said Toph, 'and it was Aang's turn.' Liddry spoke from the saddle where he was lounging, 'My turn is after the war, when I take you guys with me to visit Rivendell and Lothlorien. There you will see into a world long gone, when the Eldar were still young.' But Sokka wasn't happy, 'We don't have time for vacations.' In response, Aang blew a note on the flute and a gopher like animal popped out a hole between Sokka's legs and squeaked the same note. They continued for another hour, (not that the gophers were fun, but the delay plainly annoyed Sokka) and then Katara said, 'Ok, my turn. We're going to the desert iceberg.' 'Desert iceberg?' said Liddry.

The next day they were looking at a melting block of ice in the center of a dusty desert town. 'Real impressive.' said Sokka, sarcastically. 'Shut up, Sokka!' growled Katara as they entered what looked like a shabby tavern. As they sat down at a table, a man with a wide brimmed hat walked up, 'Are you by chance an Air-bender?' he said. Aang nodded. The man's expression was of pure delight, 'Amazing! And if you're an air-bender that must mean you're also the Ava-ow!' Liddry had smacked him in the back of the head and said in a low growl, 'Yes he is, but there's no need to shout it to the whole world.' But then looking around, he saw that he was already too late, the whole bar was staring at Aang as though Christmas had come early. But as none made any move of yet, Liddry let it be for now as Aang and the man, who introduced himself as an archaeologist from the University of Ba Sing Se.

As they talked, Liddry went and sat in a corner with cloak on and hood up so that none would notice if they didn't look for him. He listened as his friends and the archaeologist began talking about a library that the spirits themselves apparently left, and that could still be possibly be reached by mortals. As they ended with a resolve to visit the library and began to leave, trouble finally started. Aang was about to walk out the door when a big man, that looked almost half mountain-troll to Liddry, grabbed Aang's arm, 'You're not going anywhere!' Next moment he was yelling in pain, a white feathered shaft sticking out of his wrist. Everyone turned to see Liddry holding a small crossbow; he had been hiding it under his cloak. 'Anyone else?' he asked. The other men looked disheartened and turned back to their drinks.

An hour later, they were flying over the endless sea of sand. Another hour later, they were still flying with nothing in sight. For most of the day they found nothing, though Sokka thought once or twice that he saw someone following. Then, when the sun started sinking behind the horizon, they saw something. It looked like a small tower, partly covered in sand, with weather-worn stone.

A minute later they were standing by the tower with Toph resting both hands on the stone. 'There's a huge building here. This seems to be the topmost part.' she said. Liddry looked at the sky, 'Well we've found it. And I know that you're excited professor, but I don't think we're gonna start exploring today.' The archaeologist agreed, though reluctantly. Camp that night was cold to say the was again on watch, and as the others shivered to sleep, he thought he heard a variety of sounds in the dark, not all of them pleasant.

He woke them all in the rising morning light. The archaeologist rubbed his eyes for a second, then sat bolt upright, 'I believe that the time to enter the Library is here.' Liddry nodded. After a breakfast of increasingly stale bread, they gathered round the base of the tower. Sokka pulled out a rope, tied it to his boomerang, and threw it up through the open window. 'I'm gonna stay here.' said Toph, 'Libraries aren't really my thing.' Liddry frowned a bit, as if thinking. 'I'll stay with you.' And so Aang, Sokka, Katara, and their archaeologist friend climbed the rope out of sight.

The day wore on and they didn't come back. Liddry was relaxing on Appa while Toph leaned against the wall. 'Sooooooo, have any family?' asked Toph. 'Nope,' said Liddry, 'not anymore.' Suddenly, there was a rumbling and the tower began to sink into the sand. 'WOAH!' said Toph as she earth-bent the sand beneath her into a more solid state and grabbed the sinking library. It stopped abruptly, but it was still inching downward. 'Hold for as long as you can!' said Liddry as he jumped up the wall. At the window he looked back and felt his heart sink, a large group had arrived and were trying to take Appa! He fitted an arrow to is his bow, but as he took aim, the tower slide down a few feet and as it stopped he fell from the window into the library.

He caught the rope that was hanging there. He looked down and saw Katara on a bridge facing what seemed to be an enourmous owl. Sokka came down on it from behind and it hit the floor. But as Sokka celebrated, it got back up and was about to attack when there came a shout, 'Heads up!' They turned to see Liddry swinging in and, before it could more than look, smash the bridge beneath the bird. As it fell Aang appeared and, grabbing the lower end of the rope, pulled them up and out the window. As they landed on the sand, Toph released the wall and the Library vanished from exsistance.

They got up and brushed themselves off. Liddry looked around and saw his fears confirmed by the missing bison. He felt ashamed, how could he have let this happen? how could he have let them get away? He turned to the others and saw Aang shouting at Toph. 'AANG, calm down!'Aangreered on him, 'CALM DOWN! MY OLDEST FRIEND WAS JUST STOLEN! IF YOU'RE SO POWERFUL, WHY DIDN'T _YOU_ SAVE HIM!' 'Aang!' said Katara, shocked. Liddry shook his head, 'He's right Katara. It's more my fault then anyone's.' he then walked over to his spear, (which had been thrown out as Appa struggled) picked it up, and pulled his cloakover his head. Turning to the others, he said, 'Get to Ba Sing Se as best you can. Take extra caution, the war is becoming more unstable day by day.' 'What are you doing?' asked Sokka. 'I'm going after Appa.' said Liddry. 'But you don't know where they went!' said Katara. Liddry walked over to where Appa had been and knelt down, 'They headed north-east. And by what I see they were in no hurry, with us inside and a blind girl as their only opposition, why waste the effort.' He stood up and looked at them, 'Head to Ba Sing Se. If I find him or loose the trail with no hope of finding it again, I'll meet you there. Just be sure to keep an eye out for him as well.'

As the others began walking in the direction they guessed the iceburg town was in, Liddry knelt down to get a little more from the tracks. They had to be earth-benders, suited for sandy places. He started off north-east, he would follow the trail to the ends of the earth, and woe be them should he prove the swifter. Now his skill in the hunt would be put to the test. And having only bow and spear, he was sure that his ability to fight without his….. sword. He stopped dead at the sight, the saddle was lying there on the sand, it's contents overturned as though it had been searched. He looked through himself and smiled, nothing was missing, his sword had been thrown when they failed to pull it from it's scabbard, his ax he found under the saddle, and the food packs were unspoiled. His mace, knife, and armor, however were missing.

With a sigh, he repacked everything and set it on the saddle. Then, in sudden inspiration, took off his cloak and using his spear as a mast, he began to sail the saddle as a boat on the sea. 'Eat it, Sokka!' he laughed as he put more air in the sail. The trail was still visible but the fading light was starting to hide it. As the sun was going behind the horizon, he came over a dune and saw a large camp ahead. Upon seeing it his eyes narrowed, he stopped the saddle, put on his cloak and mask, and quietly walked to the camp.

Moving through the camp was easy. No one noticed him as he headed to the center of camp. On the edge he watched out of sight. The men were wearing hats shaped like beetles and were talking excitedly about their latest sale. 'Yea, that bison was a nifty bit of trouble, but worth the gold we got for it.' laughed one. Upon hearing this, Liddry's heart burned. He reached over and pulled out his sword, it's blade glittering in the moonlight. As one of the men reached out to grab some meat over the fire, the flames shot up, so hot and so sudden, that his hand was reduced to ashes. As he yelled in pain, Liddry leaped into the circle, cutting off the head of the man who had laughed about Appa. The others looked up at him with a mixture of awe and terror. So great was his anger, that his sword seemed to be flaming and yet cold in the fire-light. He grabbed the leader and pulled his face in, 'Where is the bison?' he said in a voice that seemed to echo with power and fury.

A few minutes later he was off again, leaving a smoking camp, and its lifeless inhabitants behind. No mercy would be shown.


	5. Chapter 5: Love and Betrayal

Sorry for the delay. Here it is.

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Aang looked out the window. It was now five days since the desert, and six since Appa was taken. The weather seemed to reflect his mood, gray and rainy with a hint of thunder. Aang shook his head and looked back to the room. The whole apartment seemed rather gloomy too, Katara sat staring at the floor with her knees drawn up to her chin, Sokka was slamming his whale-bone knife into a table, and Momo lay gloomily on the windowsill. Toph was the only one unaffected, picking her nose. Aang sighed and looked back out the window, in time to see a cloaked figure walking through the rain. As the figure walked up to the door, Aang leaped up and opened the door. The others looked up as the man stepped in and threw off his hood.

'Liddry!' cried Sokka as Katara ran up and hugged him. He didn't smile, nor did he return the hug. 'Have you any food?' he said. Sokka got up and went to set out bread and a roasted pig-chicken. Liddry sat and the other's sat around him at the table. He was silent for a while, eating. 'Well?' asked Aang anxiously, 'Did you find Appa?' Liddry swallowed, 'No Aang. I'm sorry, I lost the trail, but I wouldn't despair yet.' Aang looked annoyed, 'What do you mean?' he said. 'Well,' said Liddry with somewhat of a smile, 'The reason I lost him was because I can't find a trail in the air.' They still looked confused. Liddry smiled and began to explain.

He told about finding the saddle and the other items, he told how he found the camp and discovered that Appa had been sold to a circus. 'Oh, and that reminds me.' he said, and he handed Aang a sack of gold, 'That's the money they got from Appa. About 100 gold pieces.' As Aang looked pained, Katara was shocked, 'But was there any reason for slaughtering them? Couldn't you have let them be once you had the information?' 'No!' said Liddry, in a voice that seemed to resonate, 'They were men with hearts black as soot. Not even a care for the man next to him, willing to sell his own soul to further his goals. Death was too kind a punishment.' He put the bone back on the plate, 'So how have things been with you guys?'

Turned out that things were less than good. They had barely repelled a fresh attempt to break the walls of the city, and they arrived to find the Dai Li, or Secret Police, in control of almost everything, making their job a lot harder than it should had been. 'And Long Feng, the head of the Dai Li said things that make me think HE has Appa.' Liddry pondered this new development. 'He seems to have us at a disadvantage here. We can't move openly against him while he possibly has Appa. And we can't rescue Appa for the same reason. Men like this are VERY dangerous. My only thought is that we should proceed as we have been. If we locate Appa, we may be able to rescue him before the Dai Li find out. Then, once Appa is safe, there is nothing stopping us from moving against him. Long Feng knows this. But he can't hurt Appa until we make a move. He knows that killing Appa will remove the barrier, but with heavier consequences.' he seemed to be talking more to himself than to them. Then he got up, said goodnight, and then fell asleep on the couch.

He was awoken the next morning by a knock on the door. He got up and as Aang came out and went to the door. He opened it to a woman with a creepy smile on her face, 'Joo Dee?' he yawned, 'What do you want?' 'We have received information that there is a foreign soldier in the building.' said Joo Dee, never loosing that creepy smile. Liddry finished pulling on his shirt behind Aang, then said, 'Yea, and what of it?' 'It is policy that all foreign soldiers have to stay in the outer circle.' 'That's crazy!' said Katara, who had just arrived from the room she shared with Toph. Liddry put his arm up to silence her, 'And who's going to make me?' he said to the still smiling woman. Without pause, she said, 'It is ordered by Long Feng, head of the Dai Li.' At that, Liddry laughed and said, 'Yea? Then as a foreign soldier, I don't take orders from Long Feng. I take orders from Théoden King, the Lord Denethor, and Chief Aragorn of the Dunedain. You can tell him that and that no power he has can force me.' And with that, he walked over and slammed the door on Joo Dee's no longer smiling face.

After breakfast, Liddry decided to have a walk around the lower circle. Around noon he noticed a small tea shop and walked right in. He sat down at a table by the door and picked up the menu. As he read, he heard a voice speaking to him, 'May I take your order sir?' Liddry put down the menu and looked up into a _very _familiar face. The scarred face recognized him too, 'You!' he said in a deadly whisper. Liddry smiled and said in a low voice, 'Hello there Zuko.' As Zuko stiffened, ready to fight, Liddry held up his hand, 'Don't worry, you have nothing to fear from me anymore.' When Zuko didn't move, Liddry motioned him, 'Why don't you get some tea and have a seat. I'll have some of your Uncle's jasmine tea.' After a second's decision, Zuko walked away and returned carrying two metal cups and a pot full of the steamy drink.

Zuko sat down and Liddry lifted his cup, 'To freedom, from others, and from ourselves.' Not know what he was talking about, Zuko lifted his cup as well and both drained their cups. As Liddry was pouring out some more, Zuko began, 'So what do you want.' Liddry glanced at him, 'I just wanted to talk. Your uncle's a wise man, but wisdom heard from another may be accepted better than from family.' Zuko pondered those words and took another sip of tea. An hour later the teapot was finally empty. Liddry looked inside, 'Huh, we're out, which also means that I need to head out.' he stood. Zuko remained sitting, seeming unsure over what the thing they had said. Liddry went and paid at the counter, and came back. 'I hope that you will heed what I said.' he said, then he stopped at the door, turned around and tossed Zuko a small sack. Zuko looked inside and saw ten gold coins. When he lifted his head, Liddry had gone.

He was walking back to the second circle, thinking of finding the others. Suddenly a large shadow passed overhead. Looking up, he saw a bison with six legs and a wide tail, heading for the palace. Smiling, Liddry earth-bent a pair of wheels under his feet and shot off after them.

'But we surrendered our weapons!' said Sokka as the Dai Li agents lined up behind them. Long Feng smiled, 'Take the Avatar and his friends and make sure they never see the light of day again!' he ordered. 'The Avatar?' said the Earth King. Seeing his mistake, Long Feng turned to him, 'Sir, these are agents from an underground group that seeks to dethrone you.' The king gave a thoughtful look, and then said, 'I must trust my advisor.' As the Dai Li agents moved forward, Aang said, 'Now I wish we had brought Liddry with us.' No sooner had he said that, then an arrow came whizzing through the air and pinned all of the Dai Li to a pillar. Turning, Long Feng only just saw the blade before it was at his throat. Following the blade with his eyes, he looked into the face of a young man, fair and yet terrible to behold. 'Slim of Morgoth!' he spat, 'Your game is at an end.' Liddry looked to the Earth King, 'Here, you're Highness. Here is the snake that seeks to rule. You have been his puppet, now you're his shield, the only one keeping him in power.' As he spoke, a ray of light was caught on his sword and shone on the face of Long Feng, as it did his features changed, and they saw a snakelike face flash out.

The king saw this and looked at Liddry, 'Who are you?' 'I am Liddry, son of Elgarath, second in command of the Dunedain, Warrior of Valinor.' The eyes of the Earth King widened, and he was silent for a minute. Then he said, 'Well, Mr. Liddry, if you would kindly unpin my Dai Li agents, I'll have them arrest and escort Long Feng out. I don't usually do this, but there's something about you that makes me feel that you're telling the truth.' Aang walked over and pulled the arrow out of the pillar. As Long Feng was led away, the Earth King turned back to Liddry, 'Now that my old advisor is gone, what does my new advisor say I should do?' 'You have already done it,' said Liddry as he put his sword back in it's sheath, 'Remove the traitor and take control of your city. No more letting others make the decisions in your name. It's time for you to accept the responsibility and find out what you're ordering instead of having others tell you it's fine.'

The Earth King nodded. At that moment, a door opened to the side of the dais. Liddry turned, and stopped dead, stunned, as a girl of astounding beauty came out. 'Everyone,' said the Earth King, 'This is my daughter, Elanor.' 'Hello.' said Elanor, but Liddry just stared. Her hair was raven black, yet her skin glistened like soft moonlight. Her eyes were of bluish- grey and her lips were red as a dewy rose. Aang came up and gave Liddry a little dig with his elbow. Seeming to come out of a trance, Liddry took her hand and kissed it, 'Greetings, I am Liddry, son of Elgarath of the northern Dunedain.' Usually he'd say this with a hint of pride, but he now found his title of little consequence compared to this lady before him. Blushing, she smiled and turned away.

'That went well.' said Sokka as they lounged upon the front steps, Liddry once again smoking his pipe. 'Yea, it did.' said Katara with a sly look at Liddry, 'Maybe a little better for some than others.' Liddry didn't hear her, his mind was still going to that moment when his world stood still.

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><p>We'll see. Please review.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: The White Lady

I finished it sooner than expected. Sorry if the Quality's bad, this was my first attempt at a romance.

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

Liddry watched as the sun sank beyond the walls of Ba Sing Se, but he really didn't see it. He was singing to himself of the Lay of Luthien while he smoked the last of his longbottom leaf. Aang and Sokka had left earlier that day, Katara was acting as messenger to the earth-bending generals, and Toph was visiting her family who were in the city, so Liddry was alone. But it was as he sang about the meeting of Beren and Luthien, that he saw the girl from the throne room, he hadn't caught her name, walking across the garden below him. Immediately, he put down his pipe and dropped off the wall into the garden. He saw her turning a corner and he dashed after her crying, '_Tinuviel! Tinuviel!_' even as Beren had done in the forest of Doriath in the First Age. Hearing him, she stopped and turned to see him running to her. 'Why do you call me by that name?' she asked. Liddry looked into her eyes, 'Because I thought you were part of the song that I was singing. But if you are not Tinuviel, then you walk in her image, and she had beauty unrivaled by any save the queen of the Valar herself.' She smiled, 'That's quite a compliment. But my name is Elanor, princess of the Earth-Kingdom. And I believe you introduced yourself as Liddry, son of Elgarath of the Dunedain. I must say, I have never heard of them.' Liddry bowed low, 'My people are the last of the eldest race of men, Numenorians, the children of the kings of men.' 'I should be honored.' she said, with a smile. He straightened up, 'Though it would honor me more if you would accompany me.' Elanor smiled as they walked down the path.

They went to every place the first and second circles had to offer, stopping at a new tea shop that had opened up, _The Jasmin Dragon_. As the sun began to sink towards the horizon they came to the palace doors. Turning to Elanor, Liddry said, 'Well your highness, this is where I say goodnight.' Elanor smiled, 'Thank you, Mr. Liddry, I had a wonderful day. I wish it didn't have to end.' 'Yes, sadly each day must end, but in dying it gives birth to a new day. Goodnight, your highness.' Elanor gave a small bow of courtesy and, turning, when in through the doors.

The next morning Liddry asked one of the older servants to describe the princess, and was surprised by what he heard. 'Well, it was nearly fifteen years ago, I was serving the king as he took one of his rare trips out of the city to get away from everyday life as the Earth-King. We went to the east coast, so that he could see the sea. But there, on the beach, we saw the strangest thing you ever did see, a ship, wrecked upon the shore. It's crafting was unfamiliar to us, it wasn't water-tribe, it wasn't fire-nation, it was strange. But the strangest sight was the body we found on board, a woman! Must had been a fine lady, but when we found her she was ragged, holding a bundle for dear life. It was me who found her, and when I touched her she opened her eyes. I will never forget them, they looked like a fire who's last spark had gone out. when she saw me she pushed the bundle into my hands, saying things in a strange language. Looking down at the bundle, I see a beautiful baby girl, sleeping peacefully. But the poor dear, when I looked up at the mother again I knew instantly that she was dead. The king looked after the girl after that. We buried the woman and stuck the flag we found on the ship beside her.' Liddry looked puzzled for a second, before saying, 'Describe the flag.' 'It was a dark blue, with a white tree in the middle.' Nodding, Liddry thanked the servant and went out.

At noon he saw her walking around the front doors, almost as if she was waiting for him. She smiled when she saw him, and it was so breathtaking that Liddry couldn't help smiling also, despite the sad story he had heard. Falling in step with her, they walked over to the Jasmin Dragon. There, they talked for hours, until they grew very quiet, Liddry looking out the window and Elanor staring down at her cup. After a minute of silence, Elanor spoke up, 'Liddry, after the war, what will you do?' Liddry looked to her, and after a moment's thought, said, 'After the war here is done, I'll probably be heading back to my own lands. My duty there is still not finished.' After another pause, 'Take me with you?' Liddry gave a sad smile, 'Not if I could help it.' 'Why not, don't you love me?' asked Elanor. 'Of course I do.' said Liddry in a calm voice, 'It's just, these are dangerous times for all of Middle-Earth. A war much greater than this rages, with no hope of final victory.' 'I don't care! If you're going to risk your life I want to be nearby. I can't stand staying here, not knowing whether you're alive or dead.' 'That knowledge may soon bring you grief.'

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><p>Well, it's short and sweet. Next chapter will take longer, we're moving into the fall of Ba Sing Se. Please review.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7: The Fall of a Prince

Well, it took a while, but here it is. Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

Needing to have a word with the king, Liddry accompanied Elanor into the throne room. As the doors opened, Liddry could immediately tell something was wrong; the throne was empty, and there was a tension in the air, as though something was going to happen. There were three people there, and Liddry recognized the Kyoshi Warrior uniform. But the unpainted faces that turned toward them were horribly familiar. 'Well, well, well. It seems we've missed one girls.' said Princess Azula. Liddry grabbed Elanor and yelled, 'RUN!' With one gush of air, Liddry slammed the doors shut and pulled Elanor along with him as he ran back down the hall. 'Run and hide!' said Liddry, 'Don't come out until I come and get you!' Confused, she nodded and turned down a side hall. The throne room doors burst off their hinges, and the three girls came charging after him. Turning to face them, he shot a fireball to counter Azula's. As Azula pressed her blue flames against his, a dart flew out, striking Liddry on the shoulder. As he cried out, Ty Lee landed behind him and gave him a few quick jabs. Falling to the floor, he heard Elanor scream, before everything went black.

Opening his eyes, Liddry found himself in a prison cell. Wondering why he was so heavy, he looked down, he was covered with chains. They had caught him at unawares and he fell like a log. Now he was tied up by what seemed like ten chains with no hope of escape, that is until he heard voices coming down the passage outside. Looking up, he saw Sokka, Toph, Elanor, and the Earth-King gazing into his cell. 'There you are.' said Sokka as he opened the door, 'We were calling for you.' 'Just woke up.' said Liddry, and in a huge burst of strength, he broke the chains that were holding him. As Sokka looked dumbfounded, Liddry spoke, 'Don't think that bending's the only thing I'm strong at, Sokka.' And with that he took Elanor's hand and pulled her down the passage as the others followed. Upon reaching the outside, they immediately saw Appa, with Katara holding Aang's limp form beside him.

'Up on the bison!' he said, as everyone started scrambling onto the saddle. After everyone had gotten up, Sokka yelled down at Liddry, 'Come on!' But Liddry gave him a look and said, 'I'm not leaving.' 'What!' said everyone in unison. Liddry repeated in a firmer voice, 'I'm not leaving! They may take the city, but they're not getting it without a fight.' 'You're crazy!' cried Katara but Liddry's face was set. 'Hand me down my gear.' Looking at him with wonder, the Earth-King handed down Liddry's ax, spear, knives, sword, shield, and saddle-bag. Taking these, Liddry gave orders to those waiting on Appa, 'You are to head back to Hakoda. If the battle goes ill, I will come to you.' 'We're not leaving you behind!' said Elanor in a desperate plea. Unable to look at her, he yelled out, 'Appa! Yip, Yip!' and without pause the Bison took off, leaving the people no choice but to watch as Liddry fell back into the darkness.

Early the next morning, Azula, Zuko, and their allies went to the outer wall, where the Dai Li agents, at Azula's order, tore down a section of wall, allowing line upon line of fire-nation troops to march into the streets. 'Finally, Ba Sing Se is ours!' cried Azula. Zuko just stared.

As the first line of soldiers passed down the street, Liddry watched them, waiting for them to reach a certain point. He was wearing his mail shirt with two shoulder irons, covered up by his dark green cloak. As the eighth line passed, he pushed out the barrel that had been holding and as it stopped in the middle of the street, he shot a well-aimed fire blast. The barrel erupted into a deafening explosion, damaging the street, and throwing the soldiers into a state of panicked disarray. Seizing the opportunity, Liddry dashed out, swinging his ax, beheading three men in a single blow. This combined with the destruction of the blast was enough to send the soldiers back, reeling. But before they could recover and counter-attack, Liddry was gone.

Zuko looked over the scene, 'How did this happen?' he barked at a pale commander. 'It happened so fast; one moment we were marching down the street, next moment everything explodes and this man charges out. He seemed unstoppable, killing seven men before we knew what was happening.' As he finished, another explosion sounded out a few streets away, followed by the screams of men. Zuko ran off towards them but only arrived to see Azula, Mai and Ty Lee staring at a scene of desolation. Twenty five bodies, all burned or with ax strokes across their chests. And upon a long staff was a head, face contorted with fear, with a note pinned to his forehead, _'This is only the beginning.'_ Even Azula had a look of shock on her face; she may have had a lust for conquest, but this was more than she could take.

The mindless slaughter went on for the rest of the day, with Liddry attacking lightning quick then vanishing into the shadows. Fire-Nation soldiers had started to halt the advance out of fear that they would be next. All and all, 97 men had died, with another 15 injured. But Liddry hadn't escaped unscathed, his cloak was singed, his arm had a deep gash, and his shoulder was wounded by an arrow that narrowly missed killing him. For the next three days things were relatively quiet, a small team of brave volunteers went further into the city and an hour later their corpses were brought back by a group earth-kingdom citizens. No one wanted to go in to look for the fighter after that.

Azula was getting flustered. She had seen death and destruction before, but nothing had prepared her for the desolation left behind by this one man. All she could feel was utter horror after seeing the merciless slaughter that usually she was handing out. But even through the horror, she realized that they were dealing with a man that was an expert in warfare, able to appear out of the blue and then vanish without a trace, almost like a spirit of death. She didn't know what to do, a mass attack might have flushed him out, but the willing volunteers were few so that even if they flushed him out, they wouldn't get him. They were at an almost literal dead end.

Zuko and Azula, accompanied by their friends, stared down at a map of the city trying desperately to think of some way to smoke out their opponent. 'Why don't we just send the tanks in?' asked Ty Lee. Zuko answered her, 'Some of the buildings had collapsed making it impossible for them to maneuver, and on the one clear street he's piled up the bodies so they can't move there either. However we do this, it will have to be on foot.' 'Why not send in the Yu Yang Archers?' asked Mai. 'We did, we sent in fifteen and only their heads on a cart came back.' 'I think we should just do it ourselves.' said Azula. Zuko nodded, 'Exactly what I was thinking. And I also have a plan for taking the city'

Liddry watched as the small party when through the streets. He saw that Azula, Zuko, Ty Lee and Mai were out this time, and knew this would probably be the final confrontation. He felt something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. He followed them for some way but his feeling of foreboding only increased, so he finally decided to act. Notching one of his last arrows to the string, he aimed carefully and released. The shaft sped out, finding its mark right in Ty Lee's leg. She cried out in pain, and as the others turned, another arrow struck Mai's shoulder.

Tugging his sword out of its sheath, Liddry leaped onto the street below. As he hit the earth, a rock shot up, hitting Zuko squarely in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Azula shot out a fire ball but Liddry merely side-stepped it and shot out a powerful air-blast. Azula avoided it and leaped onto a building, shooting more fire. Liddry avoided it by leaping high in the air, and while still in mid-air, he swung his sword and sent a whirl-wind that had roaring flames circling in the wind. Azula just barely managed to get out of the way. She looked over and ducked as a sword whistled though the air where her head had been. Looking around, she saw a pair of small axes that looked to had been sold recently, but left as the invasion began. Grabbing them, she brought them up to deflect another blow. Now armed with these, she began to fight him hand to hand.

Liddry probably could have finished her, if not for Zuko coming up from behind him with his double broad swords. Now faced with two opponents, Liddry found himself in quite a predicament. He pulled out his shield and continued the fight. After a few ferocious minutes of fighting, Liddry finally managed to slam his shield into Azula as she charged, dazing her and putting her out of the fight. Liddry then turned to Zuko, and Zuko was surprised to see disappointment rather than wrath in his eyes. 'I thought you had it in you Zuko.' he said, 'I thought that we might mend your past sins and that you might ride with me into glorious battle. You still may, even with this treachery. I offer you a hand of friendship.' 'And betray my country and my father?' Zuko said with venom. 'LOOK AT YOU ZUKO! You don't like what's happening. You know better! And you have the scar to prove it!' Zuko gave a look of shock and slowly raised a hand to his face. Liddry nodded, 'No one is beyond help. Why do you think any of you four are still alive? I could have killed Mai and Ty Lee easily with those shots. And Azula, I could have stabbed her the moment she fell, but I didn't. Cause I sense a greater destiny for you. I offered friendship before, now I offer it again.' Liddry held out his hand, 'Do you accept?'

Zuko stood still for a second, undecided. But before he could move, an arrow whizzed out and stood quivering on a broken piece of wood by Liddry's leg. They looked up to see a flood of Fire- Nation troops rushing towards them. Liddry turned to run, but found the other streets filled with soldiers as well, he was surrounded. Liddry looked around him, defiance burning in him. Ten fire-benders came forward and attacked as one. Moving fast, Liddry held up his hands and the fire swirled around him, forming over his head into a hideous shape. Then, as the soldiers looked up in fearful awe, there came a monstrous roar and out of the fiery mass came a huge dragon, completely made from the flames. The men cried out in terror, the front lines tripped over their fellows as the backed away. With another roar, a fiery blast came from the dragon's mouth, so hot that the first three lines were reduced to ashes while the next two were engulfed in flame. After a few minutes, the terror faded and Liddry was gone.

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><p>An explosive ending to this book. The Fire-Dragon move belongs to me, and only Liddry is able to cast it. Be sure to read the next book, A Spirit of Fire. As always, Please review.<p> 


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